“It’s not an investment group doing this...just a farm family who wants to help other farm families.”

With that summation, Travis and Misty Howard explain why on July 29 they broke ground on an 8,000-square-foot custom and USDA-inspected slaughter and processing plant near Roebuck in Spartanburg, SC. Their endeavor was supported by a $600,000 grant from the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. The project is estimated to cost $2.6 million and is scheduled to open by February or March of 2025.

When operational, the new facility will create 10 additional jobs. This is in addition to the seven workers, including the co-owners, at their existing plant three miles away in Pauline.

“The existing plant will be converted to allow continued pork, goat and sheep slaughter and processing after the new plant is opened,” Travis said. “We’ll also be doing value-added processing at the Roebuck facility, including snack sticks, jerky, bologna and items like summer sausage.”

The Howards feel they will be able to dry age their beef longer at the Roebuck facility because of the additional space available and expect that when renovated the Pauline plant will be capable of processing 30 to 40 hogs per week.

Winding up

It was in 2021 that they acquired their existing plant and found that nearly everything in that 3,200-square-foot facility was worn out, including the equipment and had to be repaired or replaced. The Howards were and still are a farm family that raise their own cattle, and they found that there were few companies around that would do custom work for livestock producers. When they did locate a facility, their processing schedules were usually booked up for at least six months before they could accept more beef for processing.

Travis, now 35, said the major investment they are making in the new plant will include packaging, stuffing and other labor-saving equipment. It will incorporate a more effective air ventilation system. He confides that he has some value-added product recipes but intends to work with spice and ingredient supplier, Excalibur, to help perfect the new product lines.

It’s remarkable that when the Howards purchased their Pauline plant, Travis had no actual meat processing experience. He relied on a long-time former butcher at the facility who eventually moved into the role of their plant manager. Travis described his own role as an overseer for the operation, including slaughter, marketing and delivery. He readily admitted that he was on a learning curve. He added that he later took some instruction from management at another custom meat plant.

Misty is heavily involved with the processing marketing, including wholesale accounts like restaurants who can’t seem to get enough of the Black Angus meats they turn out. The Howards advise that their beef farm revolves around grass fed animals that are genetically bred for high marbling.

The family maintains a herd of 200-250 cattle with a retained level of 160 steers and heifers each year. They regard themselves as a start-to-finish cow-calf operation where the family retains the best calves for finishing.

They feel that when the new facility is opened and the existing plant is reoriented to a pork and value-added format, they will look into purchasing a refrigerated van to provide delivery service as well. And a retail sales area will be created where none previously existed for the company.

“We’ve already gotten approval for USDA inspection and that means we can help serve the farming and livestock producer markets in North Carolina and possibly other states,” Travis added.

The Howards run a start-to-finish beef operation, retaining the best calves for finishing. (Source: Knockout Butchery)

Locally focused

The company handles about 12-14 beef animals weekly, including a few of their own, which they said are humanely raised and treated with respect in the current facility. The new plant will increase their volume to about 35 animals a week.

“The point we’re trying to make is that we took this leap of faith to help make farms profitable again,” he explained. “This is a project by farmers for farmers. There is not a better group of people to work with and there is no quit in them.”

Knockout Butchery recently launched its website, knockoutbutchery.com. The Howards describe it as a basic, no frills website that emphasizes their mission and goals. They do no paid advertising.

However, their message of helping to sustain and enhance the lives and profitability of farmers isn’t lost on their immediate marketing area of 6,000 residents. This is a company that seeks to serve its community through activities like assisting the local school, direct marketing advice to farm families or even helping and working with the South Carolina Farm Bureau Advisory Board where Travis serves as a board member.

His message seems to be getting through and he explains that about 60% of his 100 producer customers are now sporting their private label on the meat from animals they’ve raised themselves.

Misty pointed out that farming and running one meat plant with another on the way is a challenge, but one with promise for the future. They have two children, including a 14-year-old boy who has continuously learned from Misty’s 89-year-old grandfather, Jimmy Hatchett, and her 70-year old dad Tony Owens to the point where he will someday be able to manage the family farm. The teenager also aspires to someday run the meat processing operation. Travis explained that they’ve recently changed schools for their son to give him an education heavily steeped in business management and an agricultural oriented lesson format.

While this success story is impressive, it was not written without mind-blowing efforts, like the two-year process to apply for and secure the grant they received, or the one year it took to come up with a final blueprint for the new construction.

Knockout Butchery was one of seven South Carolina meat plants covered by an overall grant of $2.6 million that was supported by the South Carolina Beef Marketing Cooperative.